From the technical teachers behind the Emmy®-winning and Grammy®-nominated Philadelphia Boys Choir and Philadelphia Girls Choir- The Philadelphia Vocal Conservatory is open to the public for voice instruction. Our vocal instructors are adept at teaching all ages, genders, and levels of singers.
Weekly lessons can be arranged for 30, 45, or 60 minutes and may cover a variety of repertoire, from opera to art song to musical theater and from the classical to the modern era. Faculty guide each student through an individualized curriculum designed to develop musical, vocal technical and performance skills. PVC also provides performance opportunities, including recitals and masterclasses.
Click here for Summer Camps!!!
Click here for Upcoming Events!
Click here for Past Performances!
Click here for The Studio B Project!!!!
To arrange lessons with any of our teachers, email Michael Ashby at mashby@pbgcsings.org.
Michael Ashby, Director of the Vocal Conservatory, Director of Summer Camps, & Voice Teacher
Michael Ashby earned his Master of Operatic Performance from New Jersey City University and his Bachelor of Science in Music Performance from Indiana State University. In addition to our vocal conservatory, he maintains a voice studio at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Michael serves as the vocal technical teacher for the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale and Philadelphia Girls Choir.
For many years he has directed opera, musical theater and choir camp programs. His previous camps were directed at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and for Philadelphia International Music Festival in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Michael works with and owes his continued singing and teaching to his teacher, David L. Jones of New York.
Emma Krewson, Voice Teacher, Camp Music Director
Emma Krewson is currently in her third year of earning her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education at Temple University. As a former member of the Philadelphia Girls Choir, she is eager to work with and learn from the incredible vocal conservatory. She has been studying vocal music for over a decade and is excited to be the new choral music director for the summer program. She has sung in a total of thirteen ensembles in her lifetime and has been a featured soloist in multiple pieces including the Philly Girl’s Choirs’ 2019 rendition of Hogan’s “My Soul’s Been Anchored.”
Julia Bokunewicz, Voice Teacher, Camp Music Director
Regarded for their versatility as an artist, Julia Bokunewicz (she/they/he) is in high demand for their work as a performer and educator in the greater Philadelphia region. Julia has experience within the School District of Philadelphia teaching general music, choir, and theatre to students in Kindergarten through eighth grades, as well as being an accomplished private instructor for all voice types. As a performer, they are currently a core member of two of Philadelphia’s premiere ensembles, The Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia and Vox Ama Deus, and has sung with the Princeton Singers and the Philadelphia Symphonic Chorus. Julia is involved with performance at various religious institutions, contemporary festivals and companies, and opera companies in the Philadelphia region. They are incredibly excited to join the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale as a voice technician!
Mary Bond, Voice Teacher
Mary Bond is thrilled to be joining the incredible team at the Vocal Conservatory. Mary earned her undergraduate degree in Music Education from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH, where she had the opportunity to serve in educational roles in the Cincinnati Boychoir, Madisonville Youth Chorus, and Cincinnati Youth Choir. Mary is entering her second year in the Choral Conducting Master’s program at Temple University and serves at the Conducting Apprentice for the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia.
Previously, Mary directed a high school choir program in the Metro Nashville Public Schools district in Tennessee. She also serves as the Junior Faculty Coordinator for the Poco a Poco Young Artist Training Program.
Brady Ketelsen, Voice Teacher, Camp Music Director
Brady Ketelsen is a recent graduate from Temple University and just earned his Master’s of Music degree in Choral Conducting. Prior to moving to Philadelphia, he spent six years teaching choral music at Rapid City Central High School in South Dakota as part of one of the most ambitious and artistically excellent performing arts faculties in the state. While there, he taught the joy of choral music to students who had never sung or read music before as well as accomplished singers. In collaboration with his colleagues in music and drama, Brady put on a wide range of fantastic shows from classical works for chorus and orchestra and large scale musical theater productions to intimate jazz nights and cabarets. As a performer, Brady has sung on stage with community theater productions like Avenue Q and 9 to 5, and in the orchestra pit, he has played flute, clarinet, and saxophone for shows such as The Producers, Brigadoon, and Man of la Mancha. Brady is thrilled to be making fantastic choral music in the communities of Philadelphia.
